alverson



(No Model.) 2 Shets-Sheet 1. J. W. ALVERSON.

. PBRTILIZBR DIsRIBUTER.

No. 273.002. Patented Feb.27, 1883.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. W. ALVERSON.

PBRTILIZER DISTRIBUTER.

N. 273,002. Pamwdv Peb. 27, 1883.

WITNESSES l INVEJVTR N, PETERS. Pmwmmmphu. wlmingm u. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEETCE.

`JAMES W. ALVERSON, OF UNION SPRINGS, YORK.

FERTILIZER-DISTRIBUTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 273,002, dated February 27, 1883.

' Application filed November20,1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern i Be it known that I, JAMES W. ALvERsoN, of Union Springs,-county of Cayuga, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fertilizer Distributers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accomw panying drawings, making part of this specication. v

My invention relates to a force-feed, having especial-reference in its construction to the distribution of fertilizers, and intended for use as an attachment to grain-drills or seedingmachines; but it may be used for feeding and distributingother substances than that named, and disconnected from and independently of the ordinary seeding devices, if desired.

It is well understood by those familiar with the distribution of fertilizers that an even and regular flow of the same is attended with difficulty, owing to the sticky or adhesive nature of the materials or compounds ordinarily employed. Thisimprovementisdesigned toovercome this dificulty; and it consists in the employ ment of a rotary disk, forming, either wholly or in part, one ofthe vertical sides of the hopper containing the material or fertilizer to be operated upon, said disk bein g provided with laterally-vibrating blades or buckets, which enter the hopper in their passage bythe same, seize upon and carry out with them the desired amount of said material in regulated quantity, as hereinafter explained.

It further consists in the employment of an adjustable cam for controlling the path of the rotating blades or buckets, and in the arrangement ot' means for adjusting the cam and the path of the blades or buckets, and simultaneously therewith the size of the opening or outlet in the hopper through which the buckets and the material operated upon pass out of said hopper, as hereinafter explained.

In the accompanying drawings,Figurelrepresents a vertical section through a hopper having my improvements applied, taken on the line a: x, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the Hopper, showing my improvements applied to one of its compartments. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through a portion of the hopper, taken in the line y y,`Fig. 4; and Fig. 4 is a plan view of the same.

The hopper shown is ot' a form designed for use upon a grain-drill as a fertilizer-distributer attachment thereto, being represented as divided into several com partments,which in practice would correspond with the number ot' seeddis tributers or hoes or teeth employed, my improved fertilizer-distributer being shown, however, applied to one of the said compartments,

that being sufficient to illustrate its application to any number or to each and all of such compartments, according to the number employed.

A represents the hopper, partitions A into several compartments, and provided each upon one side of said partition, which by preference is made vertical, for a reason which will be apparent, with sides and bottom converging toward said vertical side,

vand the outlet-opening b in the bottom B, for

the purpose which will be explained.

In suitable bearings connected with the hopper-bottom, or with the frame of the machine to which said hopper is applied, is mounted a shaft,O,extending transversely across the machine, underneath and parallel with the hopper-bottom, and provided with disks or wheels I), conforming in number to the number of compartments into which the hopper is divided, and arranged directly underneath the separating-partitions or end pieces, A. rIlle latter-have each an arched opening formed or cut in its lower edge at a, and the shaft() is so arranged relatively thereto that the upper halt' or less of the disk will be projected up into and made to fill said opening, closing it against the escape of the fertilizin g material and form ing a rotary side or partial side to the compartment or hopper.

The disk D is provided with a series of rashown divided by j dial slots, in which plates or buckets d vibrate lthe hopper, and connected through arms or lugs g, attached tothe frame or hopper-bottom. rIhe pivot f', as will be seen by reference to IOO Figs. l and 2 of the drawings, is arranged at one side or edge ofthe cam-ring, adapting the latter at its opposite side to be vibrated or adjusted toward or away from the disk D, for causing the plates or buckets to be projected more or less through the slots therein as they are acted upon by said adjustable portion or side of the cam. The cam-ring is made in wave form, adapting it to act upon the plates d during their passage by the opening in the side of the hopper covered by the disk D, for

side or edge of the cam-ring opposite the pivot.

j" is provided with an arn'1,f2, which projects beyond the periphery of the disk D, and is connected with an adjusting-rod, li, which is shown provided near its outer end with a screwthread at hf, which works in a perforated lug or ear, a', attached to the hopper or machineframe. This lug or ear is provided with an interna] screw-thread, and forms a stationary nut in which the rod .7L is adjusted longitudinally by means of a thumb-piece, h2, or lever at its outer end for adjusting the cam-ring as desired.

The outlet-opening b in the hopper-bottom is made to conform in shape to the shape of the blades or buckets d, and is covered, to a greater or less extent, as may he required, to

permit the passage of the blades or buckets,

by a plate,j, also made, by preference, triangnlarin form, and pivoted atits pointor smaller end to the hopper-bottom atj. This plate;l has a transverse slot, 7c', formed in its expanded end, curved in the arc of a circle of which the pivotj is the center, and a headed pin, 7c, passing through said slot and secured to the hopper-bottom, serves to uphold and steady the swinging or adjustable end of said plate, while at the same time permitting its adjustment. A projecting lng or ear, j2, on said swinging end is connected byan arm or link,f3, with the arm f2 of the cam-ring in such manner that any movement ot' said ring for adjusting the movement or throw ot' the buckets el into the hopper is imparted to the pivoted plate j for regulating or adjusting the size of the dischargeopening to conform thereto.

Similar disks with buckets having controlling-cams and means for adjusting the same, and the discharge-openings, being applied to each of the compartments of the hopper, and all the cams being connected with the adjusting-rod h, all may be simultaneously adjusted for regulating at will the amount ot' fertilizer to be discharged.

The disk D is shown provided on its outer face with spurs or lugs d2, arranged on opposite sides of the slots in which the blades or buckets d Work, said lugs serving as stead yin gpins to guide and steady the blades or buckets in their vibratory movements, and to uphold them against the pressure of the material operated upon. By reference to Figs. 3 and et it will be seen that the opening in the partition for the disk D is covered on the outer side opposite the operative face of the disk by the iiaring bottom of the hopper, as indicated at B; but the wheel may be covered and protected on said side in any other suitable manner-as, for exam ple, by making the partition thicker or double, with the side opposite the disk diverging downward. By making the sides and bottom of the hopper-to converge toward the feed Wheels or disks D and the discharge-outlets b the contents of the hopper will tend to movetoward said wheel and outlet, and, assisted by the jolting of the machine, will be constantly forced into position to be seized upon and carried out by the blades or buckets d as long as anything remains in the hopper to be acted upon. From the point of discharge of the fertilizin g material the latter may be conducted to the ground by any of the usual appliances for that purpose, according to the kind of machine on which the distributer is employed, whether it be upon a graindrill, a broadcast-seeder, or a planter. The withdrawal or retracting of the blades by the cam after they pass the outlet b serves to clear them of any adhering material, the side walls of the slots in which they move acting as Scrapers. It will he apparent that the form of the vibrating buckets, and also ofthe cam for imparting a lateral movement thereto relatively to the disk or wheel, may be varied,

'the latter for giving a more or less abrupt lateral movement to the buckets in forcing them into the hopper, and in retracting them after they have passed ont of said hopper; also, that the form ot' the adjustable slide over the outlet-opening and the means for adjusting the cam and slide may be changed without departing from my invention.

The shaft C, for operating the distributing disk or disks, may be connected with and operated from the carrying wheel or wheels of the machine in any suitable manner.

Having now described my invention, I claim as new-- l l. In a machine for distributing fertilizers or other material, the combination, with the hopper for containing said material, of a vertical disk or wheel provided with laterallymoving blades or buckets which enter the hopper in their passage by it.

2. The combination, with the hopper, of the slotted rotating disk, blades or buckets vibrating in slots in and laterally relatively to said disk, and a cam for vibrating said blades, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the hopper, ota rotating disk provided with radial slots, blades,

or buckets adapted to be vibrated laterally in said slots,

and an adjustable cam for control- IOO IIO

ling the path of said blades or buckets, substantially as described.

4. The hopper provided with an outlet-opening, and an adjustable slide for regulating the size of said opening, in combination with a rotating disk provided with laterally-vibrating buckets which enter the hopper in their passage by it, and an adjustable cam for regulating the throw of said buckets into the hopper, connected With the adjustable slide over the outlet-opening for simultaneously adjusting the path of the-buckets and the size of the outlet opening to conform thereto.

5. The combination of the hopper provided with converging sides and bottom, the adjustabledischarge-outlet slide, the rotating slotted disk D, vibrating buckets d, moving laterally relatively to the disk, adjustable cam F, and means for adjusting said cam and outlet-slide, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 6th day of November, A. D. 1882.

JAMES W. ALVERSON.

Witnesses:

BARNY M. STEBBINS, GEORGE H. THOMPSON'. i 

